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Monthly Archives: January 2014

The crux of that case can be boiled down to a lack of proper education on the ETF industry’s more esoteric and aggressive products. In a broader sense, lack of education could haunt the industry and choke growth. It may be more blocking and tackling rather than apocalyptic, but its importance can’t be understated, ETF experts said. “There is a great need for companies like State Street, Schwab and Vanguard to offer easily accessible ETF education in ways that allow people to consume content, such as social media,” Wiandt said. Source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/101378179

ETF Chart of the Day: South of the Border Tears

In the past couple sessions, BND (Vanguard Total Bond http://www.etftradingsignals.com Market, Expense Ratio 0.10%) is the net leader across all U.S. listed ETPs in net inflows, reeling in approximately $1.1 billion in new assets. This adds to an already impressive asset base of about $18.3 billion in this fund currently, making it the largest Total Bond Market focused ETF in the product landscape. Bond Market, Expense Ratio 0.08%) is a reasonably close second in terms of AUM, with $15.4 billion in AUM, and should also be monitored closely here for signs of inflows. The concept of Total Bond Market in this case refers to these funds investing in, according to ETF Database, public, investment-grade, taxable, fixed income securities in the U.S., including government, corporate, and international dollar-denominated bonds, as well as mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, all with maturities of more than 1 year. Currently, BND is tilted as such, 40.6% Government bonds, 23.12% Corporate Bonds, 22.53% Agency Mortgage Backed Bonds, and the rest of the portfolio is allocated across Government Related, Cash And Equivalents, Commercial Mortgage Backed, and other categories. Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/etf-chart-day-bond-bash-163054991.html

In seven years, WisdomTree has become the fifth largest ETF provider in the U.S. and the eighth largest globally. “We continue to successfully execute our growth plans in the U.S., the world’s largest ETF market, and today’s announcement marks the latest in a series of measured steps we have taken to participate in global ETF market growth,” said WisdomTree CEO and President Jonathan Steinberg. “We have an important marketing relationship with the Compass Group to serve Latin America and we have made some of our ETFs available for sale in Mexico and Japan. As the second largest ETP market after the U.S., Europe is a strategically important market and is the next natural step given our stage of development. For WisdomTree specifically, the demand for smart beta has never been stronger. Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20140131-907379.html

WisdomTree to Expand Into Europe

Among the largest underlying components of VEA, in trading today Nestle S A ( NSRGY ) is down about 1%, Vodafone Group plc ( VOD ) is off about 0.9%, and Novartis ( NVS ) is lower by about 1.5%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the VEA Holdings page Click here to find out which 9 other ETFs had notable inflows The chart below shows the one year price performance of VEA, versus its 200 day moving average: Looking at the chart above, VEA’s low point in its 52 week range is $34.33 per share, with $41.88 as the 52 week high point that compares with a last trade of $39.41. Comparing the most recent share price to the 200 day moving average can also be a useful technical analysis technique — learn more about the 200 day moving average . Exchange traded funds (ETFs) trade just like stocks, but instead of ”shares” investors are actually buying and selling ”units”. These ”units” can be traded back and forth just like stocks, but can also be created or destroyed to accommodate investor demand. Each week we monitor the week-over-week change in shares outstanding data, to keep a lookout for those ETFs experiencing notable inflows (many new units created) or outflows (many old units destroyed). Source: http://www.thestreet.com/story/12291190/1/notable-etf-inflow-detected–vea-nsrgy-vod-nvs.html

Notable ETF Inflow Detected – VEA, NSRGY, VOD, NVS

For the full year, the company had previously said it expected to deliver EPS of $5.01 to $5.11 and accounting for the $0.10 of discrete items, the range for underlying EPS was between $5.11 and $5.21. Among stocks, Actavis (ACT) was down 1.54% after it said it expects to record revenue above $10 billion in 2014 and earnings between $12.60 per share and $13.10 – “modestly above the high-end” of the company’s previous forecast. Analysts are expecting sales of $10.49 billion and EPS of $12.89. The specialty pharmaceutical company gave its outlook at an annual investor meeting in New York today. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. Source: http://www.nasdaq.com/article/etf-preview-etfs-futures-weaken-ahead-of-open-as-investors-mull-economic-data-disappointing-earnings-cm322481

Doing so will provide the proper incentive for lenders to negotiate in good faith on their unsecured loans. 7.) Ensure that all student loan-servicing and collections companies comply with all consumer protection laws. Education borrowers deserve the same protections as any other class of consumer-borrower, especially when it comes to the Fair Credit Reporting and Fair Debt Collection Practices acts. 8.) Establish a universal standard for the processing of student loan remittances that records borrower-payments on the dates they are received and applies that cash in this order: first to interest, second to principal and third to any unpaid fees (such as for a prior late payment). And should the value of the remitted payment exceed the amount thats currently due, the fourth step in the cash-application process should be to credit that excess against the remaining loan balance, unless the borrower explicitly directs the servicer to issue a refund or offset a future loan payment. Source: http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2014/01/23/10-ways-to-fix-student-loans-in-2014/

There’s a Better Way to Securitize Student Loans

And it also really matters whether they owe the federal government or whether they have private student loans. More students have been defaulting in this bad economy, just as more people are defaulting on all of their loans. HEADLEE: All right. Well, let’s kind of pick apart your answer there. Let’s talk first about the difference between somebody who owns – gets student loans from the government and those who get a private loan from, say, a bank. Source: http://www.npr.org/2014/01/21/264526781/the-hard-truth-about-defaulting-on-student-loans

Related Articles The Department of Education Set to Consider Changes to Parent PLUS Loans The plan is wrapped into the Obama administration’s goal to make college more affordable and tries to attack a nagging problem: the low FAFSA completion rate for disadvantaged college applicants. ED is considering the development of a FAFSA application program interface (API) that would, in a yet-to-be-specified way, help users deal with this document which is only available at FAFSA.gov and the ED Website. It’s also an opportunity for software developers and others in the IT space to get a piece of some vendor action. ED officials are expected to issue a formal request for information on how the API might be developed through third-parties for “key education data, programs and frequently used forms,” including the FAFSA. The ED’s assistant deputy secretary for innovation and improvement, James Sheldon, told Datapalooza conferees that a FAFSA API would be useful in expanding the way students, families and others use the form. Source: http://www.mainstreet.com/article/moneyinvesting/education-planning/student-loan-debts-identity-crisis

Education Department Teams With Treasury, Intuit to Help Student Borrowers

The Obama administration is making good on part of its promise to increase college affordability, as two federal agencies are partnering with the financial and tax software company Intuit to raise awareness of income-driven student loan repayment options, the Department of Education announced Friday. President Barack Obama announced in August, as part of his higher education agenda, that his administration would Obama federal student loans work to raise awareness about different student loan repayment options. In the same speech, Obama proposed a plan to tie federal financial aid to colleges’ performance on measures of quality and outcomes. [ READ: Student Loan Default Rates Rise for Sixth Year ] During tax filing season, the Department of Education, the Department of the Treasury and Intuit plan to feature a banner on Intuit’s TurboTax Online software that would redirect borrowers to the Department of Education’s “Repayment Estimator,” which helps users choose between several income-driven repayment options, according to a release. “While the Obama administration is working to expand access to higher education and make earning a college degree more affordable, rising levels of student debt mean that we must continue to provide student borrowers with the tools they need to successfully repay their loans,” Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said in a statement. “Tax filing season is an opportunity for borrowers to take a big-picture look at their personal finances and check their eligibility for repayment options, including income-driven plans, and enroll in one that meets their family’s needs.” Student borrowers often struggle to repay their loans after graduating, but just slightly more than 10 percent of all federal loan borrowers are enrolled in some type of income-based repayment plan, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Source: http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/1/24/education-department-teams-with-treasury-intuit-to-help-student-borrowers

I’m Frugal But My Student Loans Are Too Expensive

I was better off before I ever got a so-called, better education. And I know I am not the only one. Randall Click here to get my free my weekday email newsletter with the latest tips and advice on how to beat debt and do better financially. Subscribe now. Dear Randall, Thank you for writing to me for advice. Student loans are a terrible debt when you consider about 75 percent of people with student loans never graduate and just have the massive debt weighing them down. Source: http://www.wral.com/i-m-frugal-but-my-student-loans-are-too-expensive/13322191/

UPDATE 2-China Dec fuel stocks rebound after five-month drawdown

“We got a healthy allocation, because investors were worried at owning such a small capitalization stock,” he explained to me recently. Despite his penchant for growth and his conviction that the company and its industry will be game-changers, the sudden surge in Voxeljet’s valuation made it too rich for his blood. So how do the most successful pros navigate the growth-stock conundrum? What last year’s top-performing managers had in common was their willingness to always look past the “noise” of today’s markets. Instead of comparing to a company’s share price to its recent earnings reports or even what it might generate in profits in the coming year, they compare it to what they believe the business could look like in five or even 10 years’ time. Source: http://money.msn.com/investment-advice/chasing-growth-stocks-lessons-from-the-pros

Crude oil stocks fell 0.87 percent in December over the previous month, Xinhua said. Fuel inventories had thinned for five months in a row through November, and prior to that, stocks had dropped for three consecutive months starting in March, making 2013 a year of repeated inventory draws. The OGP newsletter does not provide outright inventory volumes, and the government rarely discloses levels of either commercial or strategic oil stocks, making it difficult to gauge real demand in the world’s second-largest oil consumer. China’s implied oil demand – refinery throughput plus net fuel imports but excluding changes in inventories – rose 1.6 percent in 2013, or a meagre 150,000 bpd, according to Reuters calculations based on preliminary government data and unrevised 2012 output figures. Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/23/china-crude-stocks-idUSL3N0KV36M20140123

Stocks tumble after mixed economic news in the U.S. and disappointing news on China’s economy rattle investors

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. slipped 3.4 percent to HK$4.81 as investors in a troubled trust product distributed by the bank met the lenders officials at a private-banking branch in Shanghai , demanding their money amid concerns of a default. Hang Lung Properties sank 5.1 percent to HK$23.10. Profit excluding revaluation gains and deferred taxes fell 18 percent to HK$5.05 billion ($651 million) from a year earlier as the company sold fewer investment properties. Insurance Australia sank 3 top 10 stocks percent to A$5.60 in Sydney. Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-23/asian-stocks-fall-before-release-of-china-manufacturing.html

Asian Stocks Drop After China’s Flash Manufacturing PMI

The menthol debate is extensive but it is unlikely that the FDA will come down hard on the product, there is just too much at stake. You can read more about it here. Foolish summary So overall, apart from the issue of menthol regulation the two factors currently putting pressure on big tobacco stock prices do not look to be of long-term concern. Philip Morris is likely to return to growth after a year of consolidation and the court judgement will hurt big tobacco but it is unlikely to be a game changer. If tobacco’s not your cup of tea One of the dirty secrets that few finance professionals will openly admit is the fact that dividend stocks as a group handily outperform their non-dividend paying brethren. Source: http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/01/23/tobacco-stocks-fell-but-should-investors-worry.aspx

Tobacco Stocks Fell, But Should Investors Worry?

The yield on the 10-year note, which declines as prices rise, fell to levels not seen since before the Federal Reserve began cutting back its bond-buying program. On the domestic front, jobless claims rose slightly less than expected last week, according to the Labor Department, but existing home sales also increased less than expected in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.87 million, according to the National Association of Realtors. Analysts had expected 4.90 million existing home sales. Netflix ( NFLX ) was a bright spot for stocks. Netflix shares soared after the company surpassed expectations for fourth quarter earnings and subscribers, and offered an upbeat outlook for the first quarter. Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/hot-stock-minute/stocks-____-after-mixed-economic-news-in-the-u-s–and-disappointing-news-on-china-s-economy-rattled-investors-160716975.html?l=1

THE ECONOMY: U.S. home construction slowed in December but ended 2013 with the best showing since the housing bubble burst. Builders broke ground last month at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 999,000, stocks to buy now the Commerce Department said Friday. That’s 9.8 percent lower than November’s pace of 1.12 million, the fastest in five years. UNEXPECTED DELIVERIES: United Parcel Service fell $1.66, or 1.7 percent, to $98.83, after the company said its earnings would be lower than it previously forecast because it misjudged holiday demand. The package delivery service said an “unprecedented” amount of online shopping included a surge of last-minute orders, forcing it to use more temporary employees than it had planned to. TREASURYS AND COMMODITIES: The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose was unchanged at 2.84 percent from Thursday. The price of oil rose 30 cents to $94.28 a barrel. Full story: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/us-stocks-mixed-earnings-fail-impress-21573316

What if Tom Brady had been drafted in the sixth round by the Colts and formed a bond with Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne? Greg Garber reached out to several players and front-office personnel to get their opinions on just how much the coaching and supporting casts have meant to these two quarterbacks. We’ll take it a step further and ask you: What if the players stayed put and the coaches switched sides? Cast your votes on all these scenarios and more below. If Tom Brady and Peyton Manning had switched places, how successful would Brady have been in Indy/Denver? (Manning: 2 conf. Source: http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/post/_/id/10303755/brady-manning

SNDK February 14th Options Begin Trading

Now assume you win all those, your looking at a 12% gain in a matter of a couple hours (assuming all wins and a 2:1 reward to risk). Its ridiculous to assume youll win all your trades and make 12% per day. You wont; but your upside potential is greater by taking a few more trades (which are still high probability though), confining your trading to a few hours and being able to capitalize on the 8 to 15 pip waves that occur regularly during the London and early US session. Also, by trading the smaller time frame you can still risk 1% of your account and try to make 1.5% or 2% on the trade (1.5 or 2:1 reward-to-risk), which means you potentially make a 1.5% to 2% profit (on your account) in 10 or 15 minutes instead of a couple hours trading a longer-term chart. The small time frame and well controlled risk also allows leverage to be utilized effectively to produce an income. Source: http://www.examiner.com/article/forex-day-trading-with-1000-or-less

Citi profit disappoints as bond trading revenue drops

Considering the call seller will also collect the premium, that would drive a total return (excluding dividends, if any) of 4.58% if the stock gets called away at the February 14th expiration (before broker commissions). Of course, a lot of upside could potentially be left on the table if SNDK shares really soar, which is why looking at the trailing twelve month trading history for SanDisk Corp., as well as studying the business fundamentals becomes important. Below is a chart showing SNDKs trailing twelve month trading history, with the $74.00 strike highlighted in red: Considering the fact that the $74.00 strike represents an approximate 1% premium to the current trading price of the stock (in other words it is out-of-the-money by that percentage), there is also the possibility that the covered call contract would expire worthless, in which case the investor would keep both their shares of stock and the premium collected. The current analytical data (including greeks and implied greeks) suggest the current odds of that happening are 50%. On our website under the contract detail page for this contract, Stock Options Channel will track those odds over time to see how they change and publish a chart of those numbers (the trading history of the option contract will also be charted). Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/stockoptionschannel/2014/01/16/sndk-february-14th-options-begin-trading/

Forex Day Trading with $1000 (or less)

Trading income across Wall Street has been hurt by the move. Even accounting for the difficult environment, Goldman’s bond-trading results lagged peers. Bank of America Corp’s fixed-income trading revenue rose 16 percent in the fourth quarter to a level 10 percent higher than Goldman’s. The business has also been under pressure from new financial regulations, forcing many banks to re-evaluate which of the various fixed income, currencies and commodities units they should keep. Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/16/us-goldmansachs-results-idUSBREA0F0RS20140116?feedType=RSS

Goldman Sachs profit hit by lower bond trading revenue

Close Close Open best etf Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg Chief Executive Officer Lloyd C. Blankfein, 59, has said Goldman Sachs doesnt need a major strategy change to boost return on equity amid new capital rules and regulations that limit banks ability to trade for their own accounts. Goldman Sachs fell 2.1 percent to $174.93 in New York trading at 12:24 p.m. While the shares have doubled since December 2011, they are still below their pre-crisis peak of $247.92 on Oct. 31, 2007. Revenue Decline Fourth-quarter revenue fell 5 percent to $8.78 billion. Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-16/goldman-tops-estimates-on-stock-underwriting-compensation-costs.html

Goldman Posts Record Underwriting Revenue as Trading Dips

Citigroup drew down loan loss reserves by $670 million, compared with $91 million a year earlier. Unadjusted net income rose to $2.69 billion, or 85 cents per share, from $1.20 billion, or 38 cents per share, a year earlier. Citigroup shares were down 3.6 percent at $52.99 on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday morning. The stock rose 32 percent in 2013, slightly less than the 35 percent rise of the KBW Bank Index (DJI:^BKX). Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/citigroup-adjusted-profit-rises-21-130714862.html

He has spoken with a university adviser as he is concerned he may be thrown off his course. They have assured him that he is still enrolled, contrary to another SFE email which states he will need to begin repaying his loan. Daniel says SFE appear to be under the impression that he is no longer studying” and they seem to assume he has withdrawn from his course. The University of Bournemouth said: “The Finance and Student Enquiry services at BU are aware of the SLC situation but at this point no student has been contacted, asked for funds or withdrawn from their studies.” The Student Loans Company says it has not withdrawn any students from their courses. It said: “the SLC wrote to all Romanian andBulgarian students claiming maintenance supportasking them for additional information to support their claim of residencyin the UK for three years.Payments have been suspended until that information has been provided. Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/student/news/romanian-and-bulgarian-students-fear-exclusion-from-uk-universities-after-being-faced-with-loan-freezes-9052230.html

Student Loans: A Financial Bubble in the Making?

map ever Analyst: More reforms needed of federal education loans to parents Doug Kapustin for The Washington Post – Students study in the Louis Stokes Health Sciences Library on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. By Nick Anderson , E-mail the writer For the past two years, many colleges have scrambled to help students find the money they need to stay in school because the federal government tightened standards for lending to parents. The flux was especially intense for historically black colleges and universities , including Howard and Morgan State universities, which serve a large share of students in financial need. More news about education Donna St. George Critics dont think the plan to repay special-ed students whose work-study cash was taken is enough. Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/analyst-more-reforms-needed-of-federal-education-loans-to-parents/2014/01/08/48c9c3ea-7873-11e3-8963-b4b654bcc9b2_story.html

Analyst: More reforms needed of federal education loans to parents

Jean-Paul Rodrigue of Hostra University presents as the characteristics of economic bubbles : Confidence and expectations of a product plummet, and over-leveraged assets prompt financial crises among consumers. Another ripple effect of a bursting bubble could be that college enrollment collapses, especially at smaller, expensive liberal-arts schools where post-grad jobs tend not to be as lucrative as those in finance, medicine, engineering, or other areas. Traitz says the path away from such scenarios may depend upon rethinking what kinds of loans students can take. Should the lending arms of higher ed have more control? “It might be viewed as politically incorrect to over-regulate student loans before we reach crisis level — ‘bubblepopping’ — stages,” says Traitz, though he suggests the stakes warrant the consideration. “At least with the housing bubble, the loans were secured,” Traitz says. Source: http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/01/07/student-loans-a-financial-bubble-in-the-making.aspx

The 5 Fastest Ways to Repay Your College Loans

We spoke to investment managers and financial planners for their top tips to become free of that student loan. While they may be faster, some will definitely not be cheaper — at least initially. But all are worthwhile in the end. Treat the loan like a mortgage If you can afford it, treat the loan like a mortgage and simply official site make larger payments to reduce the principal more quickly, says financial planner Allan Katz, CFP, president of Comprehensive Wealth Management Group in New York’s Staten Island. For example, a $25,000 student loan with 6.8% interest with a 10-year payback period would cost $288 a month. Source: http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2014/01/09/5-fastest-ways-to-repay-your-college-loans/

Stock Market Today: JPMorgan Chase Escapes Criminal Indictment

IHS beat analysts’ estimates on both the top and bottom line in the quarter as organic sales growth in its subscription business clocked in at a solid 7%. The company’s new outlook for the next year targeted revenue growth of about 20%, to $2.2 billion, which is even with Wall Street’s expectations. The stock is up 4.3% in premarket trading. Finally, Commercial Metals today announced results for its fiscal first quarter that included flat sales of $1.7 billion and earnings of $0.39 a share, a 7% dip from last year’s tally. The metal producer’s profitability was pinched by falling prices for nonferrous metals in the quarter, but overall results were still much improved over the previous quarter, when the company booked just $0.03 a share in profit. Source: http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/01/07/stock-market-today-netflix-stung-by-a-downgrade.aspx

Stock Market Closes Higher As Techs Lead

By that analysis, the stock market’s performance for all of January signals how the stock market will perform for the year. The January barometer has been right for 62 or the last 85 years, or 72.9 percent of the time, according to Howard Silverblatt, a senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices. Phone companies have sagged the most in the S&P 500 so far in 2014, dropping 2 percent. Consumer staples, a group that includes grocers, brewers and tobacco stocks, are the second-worst performers, dropping 1.9 percent. Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/stock-markets-slow-start-bode-ill-2014-21468812

Are you late to the stock market party?

Just beware fair weather friends and any signs it’s time to leave… For U.S. stocks, 2013 saw the best return in 15 years , as the value of world markets increased by over $6 trillion and the amount of money investors ploughed into equity funds hit record levels. While optimism has bred yet more optimism, these are the questions that all investors should be asking at this point: How crowded is the party? Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/the-exchange/are-you-late-to-the-stock-market-party-000205000.html